IMO, the funniest and most well written show on TV.
Buy the DVD's to fully grasp the greatness of this show.

From Arrested Development:
"Lucille: Well, apparently, mood-altering medication leads to street drugs. That's what this very handsome young doctor said on the Today Show.
Michael: That was Tom Cruise, the actor.
Lucille: They said he was some kind of scientist..."
(if you don't get the above quote, don't bother watching the show)

1) The best show you never saw. The Emmy Award winning show which survived for about two and a third seasons before being cancelled by Fox. Failed due to being far too smart for a mass audience who would rather watch Pamela Anderson "act" on Stacked.
2) Any act of getting completely screwed despite undeniable skills.

1) Fox jumped the shark when they gave the "Arrested Development" timeslot to "Prison Break."

2) When Michael Bluth was repeatedly passed over in favor of his amusing, inept, "illusionist" brother, Gob for leadership of the Bluth Compay, he was given the AD treatment.

2. Critically-acclaimed television comedy which appeared first run on Fox from November 2003 to February 2006.

"Arrested Development" is the witty, tightly-written continuing saga of the Bluth family, a thoroughly dysfunctional clan of self-absorbed noveau riche from Orange Co. California -- a group whose gross incompetence in basic life skills is exceeded only by their corruption and sense of entitlement. The story centers around second son Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the sole capable and kind child of jailed patriarch George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor) -- a man who as the story begins is "arrested" and jailed pending future trial by the U.S. government for allegedly making a quick buck building houses for Saddam Hussein in Iraq. It is left to good guy Michael to save the family's faltering financial empire from complete ruin during his father's imprisonment. Said financial empire consists entirely of the Bluth Company (a "development" firm whose central office is overpopulated by a score of witless drones) and the frozen banana stand from whence it sprung, located near the beach.

Living in a Bluth Co. model home of dubious quality with other family members, Michael must also attempt to raise his son, George Michael Bluth(Michael Cera) to be a good person amidst a sea of lunacy. Inmates of the asylum include Michael's twin sister, Lindsay Bluth Fünke (Portia de Rossi) -- a vapid, affection-starved thirty-something with a chronic case of maternally-induced low self-esteem; Lindsay's husband, Tobias Fünke (David Cross), a closeted queer former folk singer and psychatrist intent on becoming a professional actor despite the slight handicap of being absolutely bereft of talent; and their daughter Maebe Fünke (Alia Shawkat), a brash young woman going through normal growing pains without the slightest aid from her oblivious and inept parental units. Putting a twist upon the crowded living situation, George Michael is absolutely smitten with his worldly first cousin Maebe, and is constantly torn between social mores concerning such matters and a burning desire to requit his unrequited infatuation.

Mommy dearest is Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter), a devious, manipulative, andmean-spirited witch of a woman with a taste for vodka and the trappings of wealth. Lucille lives with her youngest son Byron "Buster" Bluth (Tony Hale), a lovable simp crushed into a neurotic neediness by his mother's domination. Lucille has grown tired of her oversized pet, but she still needs someone to help zip her up. She has nearly no affection for her jailed husband but his spacey stoner twin brother Oscar Bluth (also played by Jeffrey Tambor) can still spark her pilot light, as he apparently did 30-some years earlier, when Buster was conceived.

Narration of the show is capably performed by Co-Executive Producer Ron Howard, of Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days fame. The mastermind who created the series was Mitchell Hurwitz. Hooray for both of them. Due to the advent of the DVD format and the show's rabid and missionary fanbase, Arrested Development's status as a cult classic seems assured. (Buy with confidence!)

I just bought Season 3 of Arrested Development on DVD. Let's get stoned and watch a disc tonight!

Impeccable in every way, this canceled sitcom was the pinnacle of human achievement. Much like Van Gogh, its brilliance wasn't fully realized until after it bit the dust. Since its cancellation, Arrested Development has garnered a rabid cult following--a following that petitions, prays, and sacrifices small animals to the god Mitch Hurwitz in hopes of an Arrested Development movie.

Arrested Development: A cult following that WON'T poison and kill you!